There is nothing inherently special about the people who live at 48 Herzl Street, an address that shows up in big cities, small outposts, and everything in between throughout Israel. But symbolically, it’s about as freighted an address as they come. Theodore Herzl was the father of modern Zionism, and there are 54 streets named after him in Israel—more than any other national figure. And 48 comes from 1948, the year the country was founded.

For this episode, which was commissioned by the Manhattan JCC and has been performed before live audiences across the U.S. and Israel, Israel Story producers crisscrossed the small country, knocking on doors at every Herzl 48 they could reach and collecting stories from whomever they encountered. Today’s episode, culled from the live show, features seven different characters, including a butcher in Akko, a stoner in Tel Aviv, and a young couple whose very dramatic tale is told in song.